Check out the stunning Memento Cycles Heart gravel bike that’s “a tribute to the LGBTQ community”

The Memento Cycles Heart gravel bike took first place in the People’s Choice category at the 2024 Philly Bike Expo – based in Philadelphia – last week, and it’s certainly an eye-catcher, so let’s take a look… 

“That frame is really dear to me,” says Éliane Trudeau of Memento Cycles, based in Montreal, Canada. 

“It is a tribute of love to the LGBTQ community in the cycling industry. Most of the time, we go unnoticed, so I wanted to take a stand with a bike that just cannot be looked over. 

“The parts were curated to fit the colour scheme of the trans flag [which comprises light blue and light pink stripes separated by thin white stripes], and the heart on the rack is a beacon of love for the trans community. Representation is important for marginalised communities when growing up, so I try to be a strong figure for that.”

 

 

 

 

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The frame is made using a combination of Columbus Cromor and Zona steel tubes,  along with some straight 4130 chromoly tubes. It has a 47mm head tube and a 42mm down tube. 

“That bike took a lot of time to make since we put in a lot of extra features: the internal routing for the rear brake and rear derailleur, the triple triangle, the double seatstay bridges trapping that hourglass eyelet, the extra curved tubes, and the integrated rack,” says Éliane.

“My partner Ronny Perez Jaramillo and I really put in the extra hours to make sure that it would stand out. 

Of course, a triple triangle design, with the seatstays extending beyond the seat tube to join the top tube, is nothing new. You see something vaguely similar on current bikes from mainstream brands like GT, Lapierre, and many others.

The head badge, on the other hand, is unique, made by WZRD. 

The frame features a double seatstay bridge with an eyelet positioned between them. Both wheels are thru-axle.

The Memento Cycles frame is built up with a 1x (single chainring) 11-speed drivetrain, with a SRAM derailleur, chain, and shifter. The disc brakes aren’t from SRAM, though, they’re Shimano: flat-mount at the back and ISO at the front.

The bike is equipped with a RockShox Reverb dropper seatpost and a Zipp stem, while the 50cm drop handlebar is from Salsa. 

The 650B wheels, built by C&L Cycles in Montreal, use WTB KOM rims and they’re fitted with SimWorks x Panaracer Super Yummy tyres in a 2.22in width.

The stunning crankset is an Appleman 2XR, CNC machined from aluminium and available in lengths from just 100mm. Those are Look X-Track En-Rage pedals on there.

The headset and seat clamp are from Wolf Tooth and the saddle is a Brooks Cambium C17.

> Read our review of the Brooks Cambium C17 saddle

“It was intimidating to go to such a prestigious bike show for our two-year-old company,” says Éliane. “There were some legendary builders there, like Bilenky,  Chapman, and Mars, so we really thought we would be overshadowed. It is such a great honour to have won first place for our bike. We are beyond happy.”

mementocycles.com